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Yesterday I was watching a Simpsons episode and there was a nasty joke on West Virginians if I got that right. In another thread there were Californians almost complaining about California's odd reputation being defined by L.A. and S.F.
So I was wondering, which states (and maybe even particular cities) are suffering or benefitting the most from a certain national perception that is not / no longer valid, and how?
Lots of people still think NYC is dangerous and crime-ridden. Parts of it are. But most of it is not. As the stats says, "safest big city in the nation." It ain't Mayberry, but the end of the crack wars, better policing (mostly), the influx of immigrants, and the retention of afflent New Yorkers means that crimes rates are way, way down from 15 or 20 years ago.
People also think "There's no middle class left in NYC." Wrong. People say that because they don't seen how middle class people of color are here. They think middle class w/o thinking about the middle class black and brown and Asian folks. They're also thinking about Manhattan, where the middle class HAS been pretty much priced out. But look in the outer boroughs. Much middle-class life, single family homes, kids on yellow school buses -- the whole nine yards.
NYC is wildly liberal. Well, not really. Maybe you can say that about Manhattan, but not the city as a whole. Much of the black and Latino population (the majority of the city) is church going and socially and culturally conservative. Same can be said (minus the chiurch going part) about some of the large Jewish communities in Brooklyn. Our mayor, once Democratic, once Republican, now independant, essentially governs from the center, not the far left or far right, and always has. So did his predecessors like Koch and Guiliani. And so, I'll bet, will the next mayor, whoever he (or she) is, no matter what they say now.
There are cities and states out there whose reputations are bad (or good, but mostly bad) solely because of the image people have of them.
I think that many people have outdated and/or stereotypical views of certain cities or areas. Places like Kansas City suffer because people hear the word Kansas and assume it's in the middle of nowhere, and people still think of the South as has having severe issues with racism. Michigan suffers because of Detroit, etc...all these different things come to mind.
I just think that if people actually took the time to educate themselves instead of relying on information that is no longer valid and/or reliable, they wouldn't be so ignorant of other places.
I don't think Kansas "suffers" at all from the perception others have of it. A lot of people really enjoy living in a Well Kept Secret, untroubled by outsiders trying to shoulder in and get a share of the good life.
I don't think Kansas "suffers" at all from the perception others have of it. A lot of people really enjoy living in a Well Kept Secret, untroubled by outsiders trying to shoulder in and get a share of the good life.
I was boggled on this forum when a guy asked about Columbus OH vs Indiannapolis for a job transfer. Someone piped up and said the OP would prefer indy because Indy is more conservative, assuming because the OP was from TN he MUST be conservative.
Like the country is divided into red states and blue states and they check your voting record upon entry.
I find that a lot of people mistakenly assume that everyone from New York is from "the city". Many don't realize how much more there is to NY beyond NYC.
Really? The rest of the country calls him Nanny Bloomberg.
I don't.
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